Leading FI’s and Global Corporations Collaborate with SWIFT’s Innotribe to Drive Innovation in the Banking Industry

Brussels, 17 September 2012 – Leading industry professionals from FIs and global corporations are working with Innotribe, SWIFTs initiative for enabling collaborative innovation in financial services, to drive innovation within the banking industry. Senior executives from Citi, Sberbank and Deloitte are amongst a group of ‘enablers’ who collaborate to develop and maximise innovative projects via SWIFT’s Incubator process.

The group consisting of senior professionals from tier one banks, industry experts and VCs meet regularly to foster community-oriented innovation. The ‘Innotribe Enablers’ advise on financial industry start-up projects to maximise their growth, provide expertise and connect them with financial institutions that will support them further.

The group of Enablers comprise of:

SWIFT

Gottfried Liebbrandt, CEO

Javier Perez Tasso, Head of Marketing

Kosta Peric, Head of Innovation

Financial Institutions

CITI – Kartik Kaushik, Managing Director, Global Head of Business Development

Matteo Rizzi, co-founder, Innotribe, says: “The banking sector is undergoing huge changes; the financial crisis has impacted the perception of the general public and the evolution of technology is having a significant impact on banks’ offerings and customer expectations. The support that we are receiving from top executives within the industry is a clear indication of the importance of enabling innovation to strengthen the banking sector.”

Neal Livingston, Global Head of Transaction Services Origination, International Banking, Royal Bank of Scotland, believes that innovation in the banking industry is essential: “The Innotribe Incubator is a fantastic and essential opportunity to mobilise the financial industry. It is important that we are able to work together to support new initiatives in a sector which has remained in turmoil during recent years. There are endless areas in which the banking sector could expand into, particularly with the developments in mobile and other technologies, but to do this we need to invest time into exploration and development.”

The banking industry is becoming increasingly aware of the value of supporting new iniatives. Mircea Mihaescu, Head of Innovation, Sberbank notes, “It is important that banks work with FS start-ups throughout the growth stage. It is an opportunity to establish the problems that need a solution, the ideas that will work, and how it will benefit our industry. I see a lot of value in collaborating with SWIFT, the other enablers and entrepreneurs to drive the banking sector forward.”

SWIFT’s incubator project, facilitated by Innotribe, provides the support required to develop new initiatives which show potential to have a strong impact on the financial industry. The incubator’s most recent success, SWIFT’s MyStandards, was launched in May, and the Innotribe Startup Challenge, financed by the Incubator has generated huge opportunities for new businesses since 2011. The Startup Challenge provides entrepreneurs the chance to compete for a $50,000 prize, along with guidance and support from the Enablers and SWIFT to grow their business. The competition is held across Europe, Asia and the Americas, concluding at SWIFT’s annual conference, Sibos.

About Innotribe
Launched in 2009, Innotribe is SWIFT's initiative to enable collaborative innovation in financial services. Innotribe presents an energising mix of education, new perspectives, collaboration, facilitation and incubation to professionals and entrepreneurs who are willing to drive change within their industry. It fosters creative thinking in financial services, through debating the options (at Innotribe events) and supporting the creation of innovative new solutions (through the Incubator, Startup Challenge and Proof of Concepts (POCs). It is through this approach, the Innotribe team at SWIFT is able to generate a platform that enables innovation across SWIFT and the financial community. For more information, please visit http://www.innotribe.com/.

About SWIFT
SWIFT is a member-owned cooperative that provides the communications platform, products and services to connect more than 10,000 financial institutions and corporations in 212 countries and territories. SWIFT enables its users to exchange automated, standardised financial information securely and reliably, thereby lowering costs, reducing operational risk and eliminating operational inefficiencies. SWIFT also brings the financial community together to work collaboratively to shape market practice, define standards and debate issues of mutual interest.